Abstract：An order assignment and scheduling problem with parallel machines is studied. Decisions of different functions including order assignment, production scheduling and batch delivery scheduling are integrated for a simultaneous optimization in the supply chain. A mathematical model for the problem is built to minimize a weight sum of the total lead time and total cost. A hybrid algorithm which integrates a tabu search algorithm with vector array representation and a heuristic algorithm based on dynamic programming method is designed to solve the problem. Experiments adopting different approaches and algorithms are conducted on the problem; the results verify the substantial advantage of the order assignment and scheduling approach and confirm that the designed hybrid algorithm is an efficient method for solving the problem.
2013, Vol. 10 
